How To Survive A Cute Ghost Yandere
Chapter 23: I-is he still alive?

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: I-is he still alive?

"Hegk...! Kgah...!"

The supervisor clutched his own throat, feeling blood spray from his mouth. His eyes had gone slightly red, his face drained of color. Along his neck, something resembling green veins crept upward slowly, in a way that was genuinely nauseating.

"D-damn it...!"

His voice came out weak.

The two-headed Basilisk in front of him was riddled with wounds. The supervisor should have been able to win, if he’d been at full strength—but having fallen from a considerable height earlier, he’d sustained serious injuries.

He breathed in ragged gasps, his vision blurring.

’If this keeps up, I won’t be able to protect Lady Saintess. I won’t even be able to make it back myself.’

Ironically, someone like him had to sacrifice himself for those with a more promising future ahead of them.

He took a deep breath.

"S-sir...!"

The Saintess ran toward him, her face grim. The poison from the two-headed Basilisk’s attack worked fast.

He was genuinely dying, his legs so weak that he’d collapse the moment he let his guard down.

And that was exactly what happened.

The man coughed, spitting up a mouthful of blood as those green veins writhed further up his face.

"Agh...!"

Thud...!

He dropped to his knees first, using his axe as a support so he wouldn’t collapse completely. But it was hopeless—that poison. He’d only let his guard down for a moment, and the two-headed Basilisk had turned the tables in an instant.

"M-miss..."

"D-don’t talk, you’re going to be fine, y-you’re not going to die...! Not while I’m here."

The Saintess had a gentle heart, raised within the sacred temple while holding onto a fiercely positive view of the world.

That was exactly why the Saintess was so utterly shocked, at a complete loss for what to do in a situation like this.

Thinking that, the man bit down on his lip.

"You need to go... You still can’t die here."

The Saintess shook her head. Tears streamed down her face as the man’s eyes slowly, weakly closed.

The two-headed Basilisk closed in on them, but the Saintess didn’t so much as glance at it, her pupils hollow, tears still spilling endlessly.

"...No, not yet, you still have to live...!"

Her lips kept moving, murmuring one phrase after another. Meanwhile, the Basilisk finally loomed over them, making the Saintess flinch.

Her gaze fixed on the Basilisk towering right beside her, filled with pure, unguarded terror as she murmured:

"Ah... Goddess... Crelesta."

A hollow smile crossed her face.

’What does it even mean... to hold the position of Saintess?’

When she couldn’t do a single thing.

This time, it was really over.

The Basilisk lunged forward with startling speed. Its head shot forward to strike the Saintess, frozen in silence.

But...

The atmosphere around them suddenly shifted. A dense, rotten aura, thick with the presence of death, swallowed the surrounding silence.

That suffocating aura gathered in one spot. Both the Saintess and the two-headed Basilisk turned to stare in the same direction.

Then their gazes locked onto the body of a young man who should have already been a corpse.

Crackle—!

Red lightning sparked around his body, scorching everything within its small radius.

’...Huh?’

The Saintess wasn’t unfamiliar with that sight.

On the young man’s forehead, she could see a Stigmata mark, forming something strange, suddenly flickering to life with a dim silver light.

The Saintess’s heart pounded. That was the exact phenomenon that occurred when someone finally managed to comprehend their Stigmata and activate it.

If that was happening now...

’I-is he still alive?’

And sure enough. Eiros’s fingers twitched, before his eyes, previously blank and lifeless, suddenly flashed with life and a crimson glint.

His body sat up. Every wound on him seemed to simply vanish, leaving nothing but dried blood staining his tattered clothes.

Then he turned his head. His gaze landed on the Saintess, on the helpless supervisor, then on the badly wounded two-headed Basilisk.

Eiros said nothing. He stood, then clenched his hand around empty air. His Stigmata manifested instantly.

An aura of death, along with crackling red lightning, gathered around his right hand. Slowly, it formed into a massive sword, nearly the size of his own body. A blade so dark, marked with strange patterns, looking almost scorched and uneven along its edge.

Crackle—!! Crackle—!!

Bolts of red lightning flickered around the massive sword itself. Then, as if the sword weighed nothing at all, Eiros hefted it with ease, wielding it as though it were an extension of his own body.

"...Sorry, I shouldn’t have taken so long."

His low voice was the only sound filling the silence. The Saintess, not knowing what else to do, could only let her tears fall.

However Eiros had managed to survive wasn’t what mattered right now. What mattered was that Eiros was still alive.

She thanked the Goddess, for that miracle, or whatever had made it happen.

***

Crackle—!! Crackle—!!

’...A two-headed Basilisk. This is the monster Professor Liam mentioned before.’

With Eiros’s current strength, he wouldn’t stand a chance against a monster like this. He was certain of that, given his lack of experience in both controlling Soul Essence and actual combat itself.

But that was only true if he were just an ordinary Eiros.

He could come back from death. The two-headed Basilisk was riddled with wounds, on the verge of death, while Eiros stood at his very best.

’I can do this...!’

Eiros didn’t hesitate.

The two-headed Basilisk lunged at him, hissing violently. Its other head fired a thick jet of fluid.

Eiros ducked his head, dodging the attack. Then, the moment the fluid passed him by, he shot forward.

The Basilisk’s fangs were razor-sharp and powerful, carrying a lethal poison as well. So he refused to face it head-on, given it had two heads.

The Basilisk lunged at him with its mouth wide open. Eiros rolled to the side, refusing to let his guard down for even a second, immediately leaping back several steps.

Eiros was grateful he’d done that, because the Basilisk’s second head struck exactly where he’d just rolled, obliterating the spot. The surrounding area trembled faintly, small rocks falling from the ceiling above due to the clash happening far overhead.

Neither the Basilisk nor Eiros paid it any mind. They ignored it, both charging to close the distance with each other. Every time the serpent tried to bite him, Eiros dodged, retreated, then closed the gap once more.

He raised his sword.

At one moment, when the second head wasn’t in a proper position to attack, Eiros seized the opportunity immediately.

Crackle—!!

His massive sword, crackling with red lightning, collided against the scales near the serpent’s head, revealing its tough, sturdy hide.

"Hrgh...!"

Eiros tensed slightly, biting down on his lip, letting out a small grunt as he poured in more strength.

His sword then slid downward. Thick, disgusting green blood sprayed out from the strike. He managed to pierce through the skin, but at the same moment, the other head had already prepared to strike.

Faster than Eiros had anticipated.

’Damn it.’

Seeing the Basilisk’s sharp fangs and gaping throat closing in on him, he used his massive sword to block the attack.

Kraaang—!! Kreek—!!

The Basilisk’s sharp teeth clamped down on the surface of his massive sword, trying to shatter it to pieces. But a manifestation of a Stigmata wouldn’t be that weak.

Eiros took a slight breath. Not realizing it was merely an attempt to pin him in place, and by the time he did realize it, it was already too late.

"W-watch out...!"

The Saintess screamed from a distance, making Eiros glance sideways, catching sight of the serpent’s tail lunging at him, then slamming its body straight into his.

Whoosh—!! BAAAM—!!

"Kgah...!"

His body slammed against the stone walls, cracking them with considerable force. That sharp pain made Eiros cough up a mouthful of blood, gasping for breath, unaccustomed to that kind of pain.

Several of his bones had cracked, and his vision darkened. It was just one attack, but it was enough to leave him feeling half dead.

’No...!’

Biting down on his own lip, Eiros forced himself, calming his mind and his fear. He couldn’t stop here.

If he made even one mistake, the Saintess would die.

So, gasping for breath, he forced his body up, rising to his feet. His hair fell over his eyes, blood spilling from his forehead, trickling slowly across his eye.

Right then, Eiros felt his own strength surging even further. The pain didn’t disappear, but it was forced to recede.

His energy, his strength, his speed, his mental clarity—all of it felt noticeably stronger compared to before.

That was the effect of his Stigmata’s ability.

With one eye seeing the world painted entirely in the color of blood, he raised his sword again, dodging sideways as several jets of green fluid shot toward him.

The rock he’d been standing on melted away instantly.

"Hghg...!"

Crackle—!!

Eiros dug his feet in, pouring even more Soul Essence into himself, then shot forward at a speed that made the Basilisk flinch.

Whoosh—!! Kwaagh—!!

The moment Eiros swung his sword, a trail of mixed red and black light streaked through the air, followed by crackling red lightning, and he slashed straight through the Basilisk’s body, nearly severing one of its heads entirely.

The Basilisk managed to dodge at just the right moment. But because of that slash, one of its heads now dangled unstably, nearly cut clean off.

Kieek—!!

The Basilisk let out a piercing howl. Then its movement speed suddenly spiked, catching Eiros slightly off guard. But he quickly steadied himself, hefting his massive sword.

Crackle—!! Crackle—!!

Baam—!! Baam—!! Baam—!!

The Basilisk went berserk, slamming into wherever Eiros happened to be. Small tremors now shook the area from their fight, making the Saintess, watching from the sidelines, pray with mounting dread.

Every time Eiros took a hit, his face grew paler. His body bore wounds in countless places, blood soaking into every part of him. But that didn’t stop him.

If anything, his strength kept surging even higher.

The closer he got to death, the stronger he became.

Eiros leapt here and there, no matter where he went, no matter where he fled, the Basilisk gave him no room to breathe, until finally, Eiros found himself backed into a corner, a spot where he couldn’t dodge, the Basilisk’s body now blocking his path of escape.

Eiros gasped for breath, his face pale and exhausted. His gaze locked onto the Basilisk, which launched its attack as if determined to end the fight right there.

But Eiros refused to let himself get cornered without a fight. That attack was about to come down right on top of him, so before it landed, he charged forward.

The Basilisk’s other head tried to block his path. But what could that half-severed head possibly do, dangling the way it was?

That head swung about uselessly, becoming the one and only opening Eiros needed. His massive sword crackled, then in one sweeping arc, he cut clean through the Basilisk’s throat.

Kwaaa—!!

The Basilisk’s piercing howl once again filled the surrounding air like some grim melody. Pale green blood sprayed out from both of the creature’s bodies. Its severed head dropped not far away.

Eiros didn’t stop. He saw the other head, panicked and thrashing. He spun his sword around, redirecting his aim, then leapt high, shooting straight toward the Basilisk’s remaining head.

Pewh—!!

Panicking at Eiros’s approach, the Basilisk fired jets of thick green fluid wildly, without pause. All of it was dodged with ease.

Crackle...!

Slash—!!

The final head was then severed clean off. The Basilisk’s body, having now lost both its heads, collapsed with a heavy thud.

Dust billowed up from its massive frame, while Eiros slowly landed, his face showing just how much strain he was truly under.

His eyes were wide, his mouth open, gasping for air, his heart pounding hard, sweat pouring down his face and across his entire body.

All of it was pure adrenaline.

That was exactly how he’d managed to win.

Staring at the two-headed Basilisk’s corpse, Eiros let out a relieved sigh. Finally, letting his body, trembling throughout the entire fight, relax at last.

The manifestation of his Stigmata shattered into pieces. The dense aura of death enveloping his body faded away, along with his expression finally easing into something more relaxed.

Then Eiros immediately felt just how badly beaten up his body actually was. He furrowed his brow, coughed up blood a few times, his legs going weak as if he might collapse.

But Eiros didn’t fall.

Stumbling, he walked over toward the Saintess, awkward and unsteady.

***